TEXT:

‘But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our guilt and iniquities; the chastisement [needful to obtain] peace and well-being for us was upon Him, and with the stripes [that wounded] Him we are healed and made whole’(Isaiah 53:5 AMPC)

THOUGHT:

Saying I have been wounded by a rabbit can seem comical but I have lived with the scar for nearly sixty years. I held it too close to my face and its paw scratched my upper lip! The Bible reveals some interesting truths about being wounded and Today’s Teaching concentrates on four aspects.

• Hurt – ‘And one will say to him, ‘What are these wounds between your arms?’ Then he will answer, “Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends”’ (Zechariah 13:6)

The answer to the question is surprising, “In the house of my friends”. When the world wounds us, it’s not unexpected, but it hurts deeply when it’s by fellow-Christians or the ones we love.

Hurts can be overcome when there is repentance, as forgiveness acts like a healing balm. When there is no remorse or even self-justification for wrong actions and words, the wounds cut deeper.

It is possible to forgive, for Jesus did just that on the cross saying, ‘Father forgive them for they do not know what they are doing’.¹ Whilst it was the Roman soldiers who crucified Him, it was the Jewish nation, His own people, that demanded Pilate authorise the death penalty.

Paul wrote, ‘I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus Christ’.² Most of these were inflicted by the Jews who regarded him as a traitor for converting to Christianity. Returning to Jerusalem he was warned by the apostles, ‘You know, dear brother, how many thousands of Jews have also believed, and they are all very insistent that Jewish believers must continue to follow the Jewish traditions and customs’ (Acts 21:20 TLB). These were the very ones who tried to tear him limb from limb.

• Help – ‘Faithful are the wounds of a friend [who corrects out of love and concern]’ (Proverbs 27:6 AMP)

True friends are there to speak the truth and challenge us when we are in the wrong. A surgeon has to make a cut before he can operate. God’s Word, the sword of the Spirit, has to cut into us before we are willing to repent and change our actions. ‘Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?”’(Acts 2:37). The answer came, “Repent”, and they did, more than three thousand in one day. Hallelujah! The Bible says, ‘Speaking the truth in love’ (Ephesians 4:15), for this will help to produce healthy Christians and churches.

• Healer – ‘They will look on Me whom they pierced’ (Zechariah 12:10)

‘But He was wounded for our transgressions’ (Isaiah 53:5). ‘I saw a Lamb (Christ) standing, [bearing scars and wounds] as though it had been slain’ (Revelation 5:6 AMP).

Jesus bears in His body the marks of what He went through to bring about forgiveness and healing. His wounds led to His death, but He rose from the dead and can now give eternal life to whoever believes in Him.

In the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus prayed to His Father if there was some other way to achieve this, but He was the way and willingly laid down His life for the sins of the world. It’s sad when people despise the cross as unnecessary when it was the only way for us to be able to get right with God.

• Healing – ‘Come, let us return to the Lord; it is he who has torn us—he will heal us. He has wounded—he will bind us up’ (Hosea 6:1 TLB).

This is a prophecy of the Healer and the healing as these next two texts confirm.

‘With the stripes [that wounded] Him we are healed and made whole’ (Isaiah 53:5).
‘He himself bore our sins’ in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed’ (1 Peter 2:24 NIVUK).

Some are reluctant to ask God for anything, since they know Jesus was wounded because of their sin. Yet there was no other way. It is one thing to realise we do not deserve anything from God, but it’s another not to take advantage of what He has done for us.

Jesus heals the broken-hearted³ by tending to their wounds in the same way the Good Samaritan applied the bandages to the injured man on the road to Jericho.⁴

Jesus healed multitudes while on earth. If there is no healing now, it means we have a powerless Saviour. On the contrary Peter said to the religious authorities, ‘Let me clearly state to you and to all the people of Israel that it was done in the name and power of Jesus from Nazareth, the Messiah, the man you crucified—but God raised back to life again. It is by his authority that this man stands here healed!’ (Acts 4:10 TLB).

Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever.

Finally, when the apostles told Thomas they had seen the risen Lord, he replied, “Unless I see myself, I will not believe”. The following Sunday Jesus appeared to Thomas and showed him His wounds. As a result Thomas cried out, ‘My Lord and my God’ (John 20:28).

We cannot see those wounds today with our physical eyes but we can through the eyes of faith. When we do, we join the group that Jesus said are, ‘Blessed who have not seen and yet have believed’ (John 20:29).

Endnotes:

¹ Luke 23:34                ² Galatians 6:17                       ³ Luke 4:18                   ⁴ Luke 10:30-37